Today, we are proud as shit to announce the pre-order for Austin Lucas’ new album on Suburban Home, “Somebody Loves You”. I can hardly believe the circumstances that made this happen. It started with me listening to “Putting the Hammer Down” and “Bristle Ridge” and just loving what I heard so much, I decided to write Austin and ask if he would be interested in putting out an Under the Influence 7?. Much later after Austin had moved back to the states and while talking to Mike Hale, Mike had mentioned that Austin was bummed that I hadn’t written him back, something I didn’t realize had happened. I got his number from Mike, called up Austin and somehow, some way, we discussed the possibility of us working together.

After it was agreed that we would put out his next album, we had him fly out to Denver for our 13th Anniversary weekend. We had an absolute blast hanging out with Austin, hearing his stories, and watching him perform live. We again hung out with him when the Revival Tour came through Colorado and yet again when we went down to Gainesville for the Fest.

Austin spent the better part of December recording with his family at his father’s studio (the same studio that created “Bristle Ridge”). The 11 song album is absolutely amazing, one of the greatest albums we have been lucky enough to release; an album that I am sure will help Austin Lucas to find a ton of new fans.

Enough of me jawing on. This album is brilliant, it is beautiful, and it is absolutely powerful (in ways that you wouldn’t expect).

We just posted a 2nd song on our site, “Precious Little Heart” which you can listen to in our streaming playing on our Release page. You can also download the title track “Somebody Loves You” from our site and listen to a few other tracks on Austin’s Myspace page.

Listen to the songs and make sure you pre-order a copy. We have set up a pre-order for the CD, the vinyl, and a handful of deluxe sets which contain a copy of the CD and a copy of the LP, a T-shirt, a button, a poster, a coozie, and a pint glass. The vinyl pressing is out of an edition of 1,500 copies (500 on Gold, 1,000 on Red/Black half and half co-released with Hometown Caravan in Germany).

Make sure you see Austin when he plays with Joey Cape and Jon Snodgrass in the Northwest and then with Tim Barry and Josh Small on a tour that will take him throughout most of the United States.

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Vinyl Collective and Red Scare to partner on vinyl releases

I am excited to announce that after a number of discussions, we have reached an agreement with our friends at Red Scare to become their vinyl partner. What exactly does that mean? Well, we are planning to license and release your favorite Red Scare titles on vinyl. We have been a big fan of Red Scare for quite some time and are glad to be able to work more closely with them. We think that they are pretty much the best punk rock label on the planet and we think that the world will be a better place with more Red Scare vinyl.

After those 4 releases, we will be working with Red Scare to release another batch of records and don’t be surprised if Sundowner is in that next batch. Let us know what else you would like to see come out on vinyl from Redscare.

I am so excited about this. I love this label and have always asked myself why more of their catalog wasn’t on wax. Be stoked, this is going to be great. We are already working on the Cobra Skulls and Copyrights art and should have those being pressed soon.

During the 1989 invasion of Panama, it is reported that U.S troops blasted AC/DC’s “Highway to Hell” at top volume to try and drive Manuel Noriega out of the Vatican Embassy. After he heard that their music was being used as psychological torture, Brian Johnson wryly said, “I guess now we won’t get to play for the pope.”

While still a struggling young musician, Billy Joel recorded a pretzel commercial with Chubby Checker.

In October, 1963, when New York disc jockey Murray “the K” Kaufman played five records for his audience to vote on, The Beatles’ “She Loves You” came in third, behind a Four Seasons single and something called “Coney Island Baby” by The Excellents.

Iggy Pop of the Stooges was famous for his on-stage antics. After playing a concert in New York, he actually ran out of things to do onstage, so he pulled out his pecker. “I didn’t know what to do with it,” he explained. “So I zipped it back up and walked off.” Also, while in New York, he met David Bowie. After a long night of partying he declared: “The only good rock was a dead rocker,” and promptly smashed a beer bottle over his head and passed out.

Upon meeting the band Pink Floyd for the first time, a record company executive asked them "Which one's Pink?"

Terry Jacks recorded his 1974 number one hit, "Seasons In The Sun" in 1973, but the master tape sat on a shelf in his basement for more than a year. One day, a newspaper delivery boy heard Terry playing it and asked if he could bring some friends by to listen to it. Their enthusiasm convinced Jacks to release it on his own label and it soon topped the record charts in the US, Canada, and the UK and sold over six million copies worldwide.

It’s well known that Elvis loved animals. Why he even owned a pet chimpanzee that he named Scatter. Presley taught the primate to drink bourbon and pinch women’s behinds. For a while, the pampered chimp ate at the dinner table with a knife and fork. Why, he was even chauffeured around in a Rolls-Royce. But all good things must come to an end, as Scatter became nasty and was banished to his cage. The poor chimp finally died from cirrhosis of the liver.

In 1959, Tommy Dee reached #11 on the Billboard chart with a record called "Three Stars,” a tune dedicated to the memory or Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and The Big Bopper. The song was meant for Eddie Cochran, but he was unable to complete the recording because of the overwhelming sadness caused by the death of his friends.

After enjoying a hit with "Red Rubber Ball,” Tom Dawes of The Cyrkle wrote the famous "plop plop fizz fizz" jingle for Alka-Seltzer.

On September 7, 1976, Eric Clapton wrote his hit song "Wonderful Tonight" for his wife, the former Pattie Boyd Harrison, while waiting for her to get ready to go out to Paul and Linda McCartney's annual Buddy Holly party.

The Osmond Brothers, Allan, Wayne, Merrill, Jay, and Donny had their first number one hit in the US in February 1971 with "One Bad Apple.” What most fans don't know is that there are two older brothers, Virl and Tommy, who have both suffered so much hearing loss that the entire family learned how to converse in sign language.

While dining at a London restaurant, Mick Jagger was confronted by a gentleman seated at a nearby table. “Are you a man or a woman? The puzzled eater inquired. Jagger stood up, unzipped his pants, and presented the evidence.

Disc Jockey Rick Dees, the morning man at WMPS in Memphis, recorded a novelty disco song called "Disco Duck" in 1976. After it became a US number one hit, he was forbidden to play the record on his radio show. He simply mentioned the record on the air one day and was promptly fired by the station's manager, who cited him for conflict of interest.

The only Mother and son to both have a number one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 are Shirley Jones, who sang on the Partridge Family's "I Think I Love You" in November, 1970 and her son Shaun Cassidy for "Da Do Ron Ron" in July 1977.

Glen Campbell, the country star who had a string of hits that crossed over to the pop charts in the late sixties and seventies, began his career as a highly regarded session musician, playing on hits by the Monkees, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Bobby Darin, the Association, the Mamas & the Papas, Rick Nelson, the Beach Boys and many others. In 1969, he sold more records than the Beatles and began a three year run hosting his own TV variety series. Despite all of his musical success, he can neither read nor write music.

Depeche Mode took their name from a French magazine that vocalist David Gahan was reading. It means, “fast fashion.” But French detractors of the band liked to call the English rockers “Depede Mode,” which translated means “dirty pedophiles.”

In April 1909 Charles David Herrold, an electronics instructor in San Jose, California, constructed an early radio station. He coined the terms "narrowcasting" and "broadcasting" respectively to identify transmissions destined for a single receiver such as that on board a ship, and those transmissions destined for a general audience.

Rhino Presents Boxed Set Containing 180-Gram, Audiophile Vinyl Versions of Five Acclaimed Genesis Albums Recorded Between 1970-1975 with Singer Peter Gabriel Five-Album Boxed Set Will Be Available April 14 from Rhino

LOS ANGELES — After upgrading the Genesis catalog of studio albums with a trio of comprehensive boxed sets, Rhino brings the band’s early years back to their vinyl origins with GENESIS 1970-1975, a boxed set that contains five albums with lead singer Peter Gabriel. The collection, on 180-gram vinyl, will be available April 14 from regular retail outlets, genesis-music.com and rhino.com for a suggested list price of $149.98.

Each reissued album contains new stereo mixes done by Nick Davis. They are presented in heavyweight gatefold sleeves that feature the original covers, faithfully reproduced from their original sources. All of the albums are collected in a protective slipcase.

One of the top-selling recording artists of all time, Genesis has sold more than 150 million albums so far. This five-album set collects some of the band’s most adventurous and ground-breaking records, covering Gabriel’s tenure with the group.

Genesis 1970-1975 spotlights five albums–Trespass, Nursery Cryme, Foxtrot, Selling England By the Pound and the double LP set, The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway.

Featuring favorites like “The Knife" and “White Mountain," Genesis' second album, Trespass (1970), marked the beginning of a five-year journey that saw the band create ever-more daring albums of progressive rock. The album includes guitarist Anthony Phillips and drummer John Mayhew, who were replaced on the following album by Steve Hackett and Phil Collins respectively.

Nursery Cryme (1971) opens with “The Musical Box," a beautiful 10-minute sprawl that captures the essence of the band's sophisticated musicality tweaked with freewheeling theatrics. Genesis' new lineup starts to define its unique voice on songs like “The Return Of The Giant Hogweed" and “The Fountain Of Salmacis."

The band returned the following year with Foxtrot (1972), a breakthrough album hailed by critics and embraced by fans, especially in England where it reached #12. Two tracks in particular – “Watcher Of The Skies" and “Supper's Ready" – became live staples for years to come. Nearly filling the album's second half, “Supper's Ready" stands as an avant-garde showcase for each member's individual talents.

Genesis' popularity continued to grow with its fifth studio album, Selling England By the Pound (1973). These eight songs find the band's inventive storytelling and imaginative arrangements coming into sharper focus with “I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)" – Genesis' first hit single in the U.K. The album also introduced audiences to “The Cinema Show" and “Firth Of Fifth," songs that would become popular concert staples.

The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (1974) is a double album about a Puerto Rican hood searching for his brother. It was to be Gabriel's final release with Genesis. The band toured for the album, performing the entire 90-minute album along with an ambitious stage show complete with costume changes, theatrical lighting, and pyrotechnics. The title track, “Carpet Crawlers" and “In The Cage" remain popular parts of the band's live show.

Paul McCartney will be on tomorrow's (Thursday) edition of the Colbert Report on Comedy Central.

McCartney's publicist, Paul Freundlich, has also come out and stated that there is no truth to the reports of impending nuptials for the singer and Nancy Shevell. Her divorce, which was reported as being finalized in early December, is also in question as the tabloids who originally reported on the story, have not cited a legal source.

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James Brown-Wesley Snipes Bio May Have To Wait

Film director Spike Lee told MTV News that he is still looking to make a bio-pic of James Brown starring Wesley Snipes. When it will be made, though, is still up in the air as Snipes faces a three-year prison sentence for tax evasion. Lee says that he will be using the original Brown vocal performances for the film.

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Dancin' Donny

Donny Osmond let it slip on the Bonnie Hunt Show that he may be a contestant on the upcoming edition of Dancing With the Stars. His sister, Marie, performed on the show last year and came in third.

Osmond taunted, "I can't let my sister upstage me. Besides, who do you think taught her how to dance?"

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New Pumpkins Song

A new Smashing Pumpkins song, “FOL,” will debut during the Super Bowl as the soundtrack for a Hyundai commercial. The 30-second ad will premiere in the commercial block right before the kick-off this Sunday, February 1st.

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Clarkson Sets Record

Kelly Clarkson will make history on this week's Billboard Hot 100, to be posted tomorrow (Jan. 29) on Billboard.com, with the largest leap to #1 in the chart's 50-year history.

Her new single, "My Life Would Suck Without You," is set to rocket 97-1 after selling 280,000 digital downloads in its first week of availability. The song is also faring well at radio, jumping 58-38 on the Hot 100 Airplay chart and 27-18 on the Mainstream Top 40 list.

This is the second time the artist has set the record for largest jump to #1. She took her "American Idol" victory song, "A Moment Like This," 52-1 on the chart dated October 5, 2002.

That mark lasted nearly five years until Maroon 5 soared 64-1 with "Makes Me Wonder" in May 2007 and had been broken four more times since, most recently by Britney Spears' "Womanizer" (96-1).

Drummer Eddie Bayers, who has played with Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band (1949)

They Are Missed:

Chris Kenner ("Land Of 1000 Dances") died of a heart attack in 1976.

Billy Fury, the British rock-a-billy artist who scored a major hit in Great Britain in 1961 with "Halfway To Paradise,” died in 1983 from heart and kidney problems at the age of 42. Fury was a major star in his homeland, but couldn't catch the break he needed to become a part of the British Invasion.

Legendary Rock drummer and Hall of Fame inductee Jim Capaldi died in 2005 after a brief fight with stomach cancer. He was 61. Jim is most often remembered as a member of Traffic, with Steve Winwood and Dave Mason.

Sax player Thomas 'Beans' Bowles died of prostate cancer in 2000. Played on many Motown sessions including Marvin Gaye's, 'What's Going On' and The Supremes 'Baby Love'.

History:

In 1963, the Rolling Stones recorded five tracks with producer Glyn Johns in their efforts to interest a label.

The Cavern Club in Liverpool closed in 1966.

The Who appeared on the British TV show Ready Steady Go! for the first time in 1965. An enthusiastic response for their performance of "I Can't Explain" was assured, as managers Kit Lambert and Pete Stamp had packed the audience with their hardcore mod following.

In 1978, Ted Nugent carved an autograph with a knife on a fan's arm (at the fan's request).

Debuting on the Chicago-based Chess label in 1954, the Moonglows released "Sincerely," which was the biggest hit of their career. It topped the R&B chart and made the Top Twenty on the pop chart.

Johnny Cash signed contract with Sun Records in 1955.

In 1997, Pat Boone released an album of Heavy Metal tunes called "In A Metal Mood: No More Mr. Nice Guy", a tongue-in-cheek collection of tunes like "Smoke on the Water" and "Stairway to Heaven". When the religious community failed to get the joke, he was dismissed from his Trinity Broadcasting Network program, Gospel America.

In 1956, Elvis Presley made the first of four appearances on the weekly TV program Stage Show, where he performed "Shake Rattle And Roll", "Flip Flop and Fly" and "I Got A Woman". Actor Jackie Gleason predicted that he wouldn't last, but after the initial show, his contract was extended to a total of six.

In 1983, Radio station WDHA, 105.5 in New Jersey claimed to be the first US station to play music from a compact disc.

In 1985, forty-six major American recording artists came together at A&M Studios in Hollywood, to record "We Are The World", a song written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Ritchie. The effort was part of an album called "USA for Africa" and featured Bob Dylan, Ray Charles, Kenny Rogers, Stevie Wonder, Tina Turner, Billy Joel, Diana Ross, Dionne Warwick, Willie Nelson, Daryl Hall, Huey Lewis, Cyndi Lauper, Kim Carnes, Steve Perry and others. Those attending the session were asked to "leave your egos at the door."

Paul Abdul started a 10-week run at #1 on the US album chart in 1990 with “Forever Your Girl.” Abdul spent sixty-four consecutive weeks on the Billboard 200 before hitting number one, making it the longest time for an album to reach the number one spot. Who needs American Idol….

The Fleetwood Mac album “Rumours” went to #1 on the UK album chart in 1978, also #1 in the US. The album went on to sell over 15 million copies world-wide and spent over 440 weeks on the UK chart.